Dynamic control of cell reselection parameters

ABSTRACT

Providing for dynamic cell resource management in wireless networking is described herein. By way of example, user terminal access parameters can be dynamically modified based on changing load conditions at one or more cells of a wireless network. For instance, resource capacity of a wireless network cell can be monitored over time to identify a potential resource overload condition. If such a condition occurs, a load management algorithm can be executed that progressively restricts or de-restricts user terminal access parameters based on changing load conditions. In particular aspects, the load management algorithm can analyze relative cell load of neighboring cells to implement coordinated load sharing. By dynamically modifying user access parameters, traffic can be directed toward or away from cells operating at low or high capacity, respectively.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates generally to providing load managementfunctionality in wireless communications, and, more specifically, toproviding dynamic control of terminal access parameterization tofacilitate load sharing or load management to protect a wireless networkinfrastructure from resource overload.

BACKGROUND

In conventional wireless communications, a radio access network willhave hardware configured to exchange wireless signals with mobileterminal devices. The radio access network generally covers a geographicarea that is subdivided into smaller regions served by central hardwarecomponents. The basic unit of subdivision is the network cell, whichgenerally covers an area over which a base station can reliably receivesignals from, and transmit signals to, the mobile terminal deviceswithin the network cell. Although various conditions can change a cellsize or base station signal strength, such as transmit power,interference, signal reflections or scattering off of physicalstructures or landscape (buildings or mountains, for instance), thenetwork cell will always be the unit of subdivision employed in wirelessnetworks.

Wireless transmission hardware typically comprises a transmitter coupledwith a signal modulator and signal processor, as well as a receivercoupled with a signal demodulator and receive processor. Radio frequencybandwidth allocated to a network cell, processor capacity, power,memory, and the like are all resources employed to facilitate thewireless signal exchange. Like most resources, a physical limit on thenumber of terminals, or the amount of traffic that can be handled by anetwork cell at a given time is determined by those resources. Therelationship between available resources and available cell capacity isdirect; that is, as fewer wireless resources are available in servingterminals capacity of the cell decreases. Likewise, as more resourcesare available, capacity increases.

One design constraint involved in wireless networking is load balancing.Although a typical network cell size can be determined by theperformances of the base station, the number of terminals within thecell is completely independent of that range. A particular problemarises when the number of terminals attempting to obtain service from acell is far greater than the physical resources of the base station.

One mechanism to serve high population densities (with large numbers ofaccess terminals) is to increase the amount of hardware resources withina given cell. In some instances, a wireless tower might have severalwireless transceivers, each with separate hardware resources. In somecases, the wireless transceivers can be aimed in a particular direction,or sector, of the cell, enabling multiple wireless transceivers to serverespective sectors of the cell. This can multiply the signal resources(each sector having substantially all signal bandwidth utilized by thecell) as well as hardware resources (multiple transceivers havingmultiple processors, memory, etc.) available to serve higher terminaldensities within the cell.

In geographic regions where high terminal density is relativelyconstant, adding additional hardware to cells of those regions can be anefficient way to multiply wireless network resources. Where populationdensity is not constant, and particularly where it can changedrastically, however, simply adding hardware is not an efficientmechanism for serving network traffic. Unfortunately, this is arelatively common occurrence. Office buildings, for instance, generallyhave many times the human population density (and terminal density)during business hours than outside them. But even more lopsided terminaldensity can exist. Stadiums, for instance, can cause dozens of thousandsof people to aggregate in a relatively small area (generally smallerthan a network cell), with dozens of thousands of terminals. Becausethese events last only for a few hours, and on sporadic occasions, suchevents cause a huge spike in terminal density that is not otherwiseobserved in a given network cell. The circumstances can make networkresource planning very difficult.

Wireless hardware installations are more or less permanent (relative tochanges in terminal population density). Accordingly, it may be costprohibitive to install sufficient wireless transceivers to accommodatepeak population density, for widely divergent terminal populationdensities. On the other hand, lesser hardware installations can becomequickly overloaded when terminal density exceeds resource capacity. Aresource overload condition can cause unpredictable wireless service,including dropped calls, service outage, or even large scale callfailures within those regions. Because consumer satisfaction is anessential aspect in the competitive field of wireless communicationservices, existing research and development is directed toward avoidingthese problems in general, and particularly for non-constant populationdensities.

The above-described deficiencies of today's wireless communicationssystems are merely intended to provide an overview of some of theproblems of conventional systems, and are not intended to be exhaustive.Other problems with the state of the art and corresponding benefits ofone or more of the various non-limiting embodiments may become furtherapparent upon review of the following detailed description.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects of the various embodiments. This summaryis not an extensive overview of the various embodiments. It is intendedto neither identify key or critical elements of the various embodimentsnor delineate the scope of such embodiments. Its sole purpose is topresent some concepts of the various embodiments in a simplified form asa prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

The subject matter disclosed herein, in one aspect thereof, provides fordynamic load management in wireless networking. Resource capacity of awireless network cell can be monitored over time to identify a potentialresource overload condition. If such a condition occurs, a loadmanagement algorithm can be executed that tightens user terminal accessparameters within the network cell. By tightening user terminal accessparameters, fewer terminals will attempt to camp on or register on thewireless network cell, potentially freeing up wireless resources andresource capacity.

According to an aspect, the load management algorithm can progressivelytighten terminal access parameters as resource utilization at thenetwork cell nears capacity. If current resource capacity exceeds athreshold of resource consumption load management is activated. A levelof loading is established based on the degree to which current capacityexceeds the threshold of resource consumption. Terminal accessparameters can be set commensurate with this level of loading. If thecurrent resource capacity drops below the threshold of resourceconsumption, the load management algorithm can be terminated, andterminal access parameters restored to default values.

In other aspects of the subject disclosure, a mechanism for balancingload among multiple network cells is provided. Resource capacity of aplurality of network cells can be aggregated and analyzed to determine alevel of resource consumption for respective network cells. Reselectionoffset parameters for respective network cells can be modified based onthe analysis, biasing terminals in favor of lightly loaded cells, andagainst heavily loaded cells. In one aspect, light or heavy loading canbe determined relative to predetermined resource consumption levels. Inanother aspect, light or heavy loading can be determined relative to theresource consumption of other cells. In yet another aspect, acombination of the foregoing is provided.

Once reselection offset parameter values are determined, these valuesare distributed to the cells, and from there to terminals within thosecells. Heavily loaded cells can then implement load managementalgorithms as mentioned above to attempt to reduce resource consumption.Further, a level of loading for neighboring or co-located cells can befactored into load management algorithms at a given cell, to avoidbiasing terminals off of one heavily loaded cell onto others. Whereexcessive loading is identified over most or all cells in a region, ahard cap can be implemented on the number of terminals given access torespective cells, to ensure that adequate service is provided at leastto those terminals currently served by the network.

The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detailcertain illustrative aspects of the various embodiments. These aspectsand their equivalents are indicative, however, of but a few of thevarious ways in which the principles of the various embodiments may beemployed, and such embodiments should thus not be limited to anyparticular aspect or aspects described herein. Other advantages anddistinguishing features of the various embodiments will become apparentfrom the following detailed description when considered in conjunctionwith the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a sample system for providing dynamicaccess control in wireless communication according to aspects of thesubject disclosure.

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of an example system that employs dynamicterminal access parameterization for load management according to someaspects.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a sample system for distributingterminal access parameter values to user terminals according toparticular aspects.

FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of a sample system that providesinter-cell resource management according to still other aspects.

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of an example system that facilitatesinter-cell resource management in conjunction with dynamic accesscontrol.

FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C depict block diagrams of example implementations ofvarious mechanisms for dynamic access control described herein.

FIG. 7 depicts a flowchart of a sample method for providing dynamicaccess control in wireless communication according to further aspects.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of an example method for providinginter-cell resource management for load balancing in a wireless network.

FIG. 9 depicts a flowchart of a sample method for providing inter-cellresource management in conjunction with load management for highterminal density.

FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer operable toexecute at least some aspects of the disclosed subject matter.

FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computingenvironment according to particular aspects.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The various embodiments are now described with reference to thedrawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to likeelements throughout. In the following description, for purposes ofexplanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the various embodiments. It may be evident,however, that the various embodiments may be practiced without thesespecific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devicesare shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing thevarious embodiments.

As used in this application, the terms “component,” “module,” “system”,or the like can refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, acombination of hardware and software, software, or software inexecution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being,a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable,a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way ofillustration, both an application running on a controller and thecontroller can be a component. One or more components may reside withina process and/or thread of execution and a component may be localized onone computer and/or distributed between two or more computers.

Furthermore, the various embodiments may be implemented as a method,apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/orengineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or anycombination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosedsubject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein isintended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computerreadable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storagedevices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips . . . ), opticaldisks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD) . . . ),smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick, key drive . .. ). Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize manymodifications may be made to this configuration without departing fromthe scope or spirit of the various embodiments.

Moreover, the word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as anexample, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design describedherein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the wordexemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. As usedin this application, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or”rather than an exclusive “or”. That is, unless specified otherwise, orclear from context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of thenatural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; orX employs both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under anyof the foregoing instances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” asused in this application and the appended claims should generally beconstrued to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear fromcontext to be directed to a singular form.

As used herein, the terms to “infer” or “inference” refer generally tothe process of reasoning about or inferring states of the system,environment, and/or user from a set of observations as captured viaevents and/or data. Inference can be employed to identify a specificcontext or action, or can generate a probability distribution overstates, for example. The inference can be probabilistic—that is, thecomputation of a probability distribution over states of interest basedon a consideration of data and events. Inference can also refer totechniques employed for composing higher-level events from a set ofevents and/or data. Such inference results in the construction of newevents or actions from a set of observed events and/or stored eventdata, whether or not the events are correlated in close temporalproximity, and whether the events and data come from one or severalevent and data sources.

With reference to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of anexample system 100 configured to provide dynamic user terminal accesscontrol in wireless communication. System 100 comprises an accesscontrol component 102 configured to mitigate loading in a cell of awireless network (not depicted, but see FIG. 4, infra). When a wirelessnetwork cell becomes highly congested, wireless signal resources,including bandwidth, as well as hardware processing resources, such asdata processors, memory, and the like, become heavily utilized. Iftraffic demand exceeds the capacity of the network cell problems withwireless service can result. These problems include call drops, lack ofservice, and even catastrophic reduction in system accessibility. Thelatter result can occur as a consequence of wireless interference causedby increased terminal demand, or as a result of an overload inprocessing capability of the resource allocation function.

To mitigate or prevent the problems associated with heavy trafficdemand, access control component 102 is configured to identify apotential overload condition, and to progressively restrict terminalaccess to a network cell. The greater the level of loading over athreshold load, the greater the restriction. As the loading decreases,the terminal access restriction can be reduced, and eventually restoredto default access. In one aspect, access control component 102 canmonitor network cell load passively, until the level of loading meets orexceeds the threshold load. Likewise, if the level of loading dropsbelow the threshold load, access control component can terminateterminal access restriction, and once again passively monitor networkcell load to identify subsequent potential overload conditions.

Access control component 102 is communicatively coupled with acommunication bus or communication interface 104 (referred tohereinafter as comm interface 104). Comm interface 104 can be acomponent of a wireless operator's network, a component of a radioaccess network (RAN), or a third party entity communicatively coupledwith the wireless operator's network or RAN (e.g., see FIG. 6, infra).Accordingly, comm interface 104 can query or otherwise be sent currentresource consumption information from the operator's network, pertainingto at least one cell of a wireless network. The current resourceconsumption information is forwarded to access control component 102 ina resource utilization message 106. The resource utilization message 106is analyzed by a detection component 108 that identifies a potentialoverload condition for the cell of the wireless network, caused at leastin part by user terminal congestion within the cell. If the potentialoverload condition is identified, detection component 108 forwards anoverload message 110 to a correction component 112.

Detection component 108 can be configured to identify the potentialoverload condition deterministically, or by inference, according tovarious analysis techniques. In one aspect, for instance, detectioncomponent 108 can measure a level of loading for the cell based ontraffic or access congestion. In this instance, the level of loading canbe calculated from a number of terminals currently served by the cell,or an amount of traffic utilized by the terminals (e.g., totalbandwidth, total data rate, etc.), or the like. In this case detectioncomponent 108 can infer a level of loading based on the number ofterminals or amount of traffic, for example as a percentage of a maximumnumber of terminals or amount of traffic stored as a default parameter118 in a data store 116 communicatively coupled with access controlcomponent 102.

In another aspect, the potential overload condition can be identifieddeterministically based on other default parameters 118. In this aspect,the current resource consumption information might represent an amountof processing resources currently consumed by terminals, an interferencelevel observed within the cell, or the like. This current resourceconsumption information can be compared with a threshold resourceconsumption. If the current resource consumption meets or exceeds thethreshold resource consumption, the overload condition is determined andoverload message 110 is triggered. Further, detection component canquantify a level to which the current resource consumption exceeds thethreshold resource consumption, if applicable, and determine a level ofloading, which can be stored as a value in data store 116. This level ofloading can be utilized to establish an initial amount of terminalaccess restriction by access control component 102, which can beprogressively (e.g., incrementally) increased or decreased as the levelof loading increases or decreases, respectively.

Correction component 112 receives the overload message 110 fromdetection component 108. In response, correction component 112 triggersload management functionality to effect the terminal access restrictionmentioned above. This load management functionality can, in some aspectsof the subject disclosure, be implemented by tightening access controlparameters employed by terminals in selecting a network cell to camp onor register with. For instance, load management can comprise increasinga minimum signal strength parameter (e.g., a Qrxlevmin parameter in auniversal mobile telecommunications system [UMTS], or an analogousparameter in wireless network systems based on another technology orstandard). Increasing this parameter causes terminals observing pilot orsynchronization signals of the network cell below the minimum signalstrength value to seek other network cells to camp on or register with,potentially reducing load on the network cell associated with accesscontrol component 102. As another example, load management can compriseincreasing a minimum signal quality parameter (e.g., a Qqualminparameter in a UMTS network, or an analogous parameter in a wirelessnetwork based on another technology or standard). Increasing thisparameter causes terminals that measure the pilot/synchronizationsignals below a minimum signal quality value to seek other network cellsto camp on or register with.

As discussed in more detail infra, other parameters can be manipulatedto cause terminals to seek other network cells, such as parametersbiasing terminals in favor of a particular cell, or biasing terminalsagainst the cell associated with access control component 102. Stillother parameters can be manipulated to cause terminals to seek networkcells associated with a different network technology. For instance, aninter-radio access technology (IRAT) parameter that biases terminalstoward or against a particular network technology (e.g., inducing atransfer from a 3G to a 2G or 4G network, or some other suitablevariation thereof).

It is to be appreciated that the parameters described herein forreducing terminal access attempts to this cell is not exhaustive.Rather, other parameters similar or analogous to those described hereinand known to one of skill in the art, or made known to one of skill inthe art by way of the context provided herein are considered within thescope of the subject disclosure. In other aspects, load managementfunctionality can be coordinated among multiple network cells, tomitigate one cell from excessively loading a co-located cell or aneighboring cell. In yet other aspects, load management functionalitycan be distributed among other resource management functions of awireless network, for instance to avoid active session resourcemanagement from handing a terminal off to a cell that was avoided by theterminal as a result of access parameter restrictions implemented byaccess control component 102. These aspects are discussed in more detailinfra.

In a particular aspect of the subject disclosure, correction component112 can establish varying degrees of terminal access restriction.Particularly, a degree of terminal access restriction can be setcommensurate with a level of loading determined by detection component108. This level of loading can be obtained from data store 116 (ordirectly from detection component 108). Correction component 112 canemploy a look-up table, association database, or other suitablemechanism for identifying a suitable level of terminal accessrestriction based on the level of loading. Further, similar mechanismscan be employed to identify suitable parameter values that correspondwith the identified suitable level of terminal access restriction (e.g.,a Qqualmin value, a Qrxlevmin value, a Qoffset value, and so on). Uponidentifying suitable parameter values, correction component 112 outputsa parameterization message 114 containing these values to comm interface104. Comm interface 104 can then forward these parameter values fordistribution to terminals within range of the cell associated withaccess control component 102.

As described above, load management functionality can be implemented tomitigate or prevent resource overload of a network cell. This can helpto avoid catastrophic system accessibility reduction caused by resourceoverload. It is worth noting that in particular aspects, the loadmanagement functionality is implemented via parameters involved in cellselection decisions employed by terminals. This can be a moreadvantageous way to implement load management, as compared with imposinga hard cap on the number of terminals given access to a cell, or simplydropping terminals. First, at least some of the cell selectionparameters described herein involve signal strength or signal qualityparameters. By tightening these parameters, terminals that observe poorsignals from the cell are offloaded first, maximizing quality of serviceto terminals retained by the cell. A hard cap on the number of terminalsmay not be able to incorporate this type of discrimination, such thatsome terminals may receive poor service, whereas other terminals thatcould be well-served by the cell are rejected. Second, by progressivelytightening access parameters, the cell can still be run at or nearresource capacity. This results in efficient utilization of cellresources.

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of a sample system 200 for providingresource management in wireless communications. System 200 can comprisea detection component 202 that receives a resource utilization message204 comprising information pertaining to current cell load, or currentcell resource consumption, for one or more cells associated with system200. Upon receiving resource utilization message 204, detectioncomponent 202 can query a parameter database 206 that maintains a listof cell access parameters related to dynamic access control for thecell(s), and corresponding values for the cell access parameters. Thesevalues are stored in respective data locations 206A, 206B, 206C, 206D,206E, 206F (referred to collectively as data locations 206A-206F) ofparameter database 206. In response to the query, parameter database 206provides a resource capacity message 208, which specifies resourcecapacity values for the cell(s). A processing component 210 is employedto compare the current cell load information to the resource capacityvalues, and determine a level of load for the cell(s) (respectively).The level of load is stored in a data location 206B of parameterdatabase 206 via a load value message 212.

A management component 214 monitors the level of load value(s) for thecell(s) stored in data location 206B, through load value messages 218received by management component 214 from parameter database 206. Uponidentifying a change in the level of load, management component 214queries parameter database 206 for threshold load values for a cell(s)associated with the changing level of load. The threshold load valuesare delivered to management component 214 in a threshold message 216. Ifa change in level of load associated with an overload condition isidentified by management component 214 (whether increasing level of loador decreasing level of load), management component 214 sends a trigger220 to a correction component 222, to re-calculate load parametersassociated with load management functionality. In this manner,management component 214 can effectuate progressive restriction orde-restriction based on contemporaneous changes in the level of load.

In addition to the foregoing, management component 214 can terminateload management functionality where appropriate. For instance, if thelevel of loading drops below a load threshold value, managementcomponent 214 can update an activation status parameter stored in datalocation 206F to negative, and issue a trigger 220 that can causecorrection component 222 to go inactive. Subsequently, managementcomponent 214 continues to monitor the current level of load on thecell(s) updated by detection component 202. However, no additional loadmanagement functionality is conducted by system 200 until the level ofload meets or exceeds the load threshold value. If this latter conditionis identified, management component 214 updates the activation status topositive and changes the activation status parameter in data location206F to reflect this condition.

Upon receiving the trigger 220 from management component 214, correctioncomponent 222 acquires a parameter values message 224 from parameterdatabase 206. The parameter values can include current load managementparameter values, as well as default load management values associatedwith load management functionality. Examples can include max parametervalues stored in a max value data location 206D of parameter database,as well as increment sizes stored in an increment size data location206E of parameter database. The max parameter values, increment sizevalues, as well as current level of load and load capacity informationcan be provided to a load management algorithm 226 executed bycorrection component 222 in response to trigger 220. Load managementalgorithm outputs updated terminal access parameter values as aparameterization message 228, which can be distributed to terminals inthe cell(s) associated with the updated parameter values.

In a particular aspect of the subject disclosure, default parametervalues stored in parameter database 206 can be modified by a networkoperator (e.g., see FIG. 5, infra). In this case, the network operatorcan modify the max value to which a minimum signal quality parameter orminimum signal strength parameter can be tightened, as well as defaultminimum signal quality or minimum signal strength parameters employedwhen no potential overload condition exists. Additionally, the networkoperator can modify the increments to which these parameters areadjusted in response to changes in level of load. Accordingly, thenetwork operator can have control over how fast or slow terminal accessrestriction is implemented in response to potential overload conditions.This can provide a significant benefit to network operators, enablingvariable control over load management functionality based on ananticipated change of terminal density. Thus, where a stadium or otherlarge capacity structure is constructed near one or more cells of theoperator's network, the operator could increase load managementfunctionality in anticipation of highly changing terminal density thattypically coincides with large-scale events.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an example system 300 fordistributing terminal access parameterization to user terminalsoperating within a cell of a wireless network, according to additionalaspects of the subject disclosure. As described herein, progressiveterminal access restriction can be employed to reduce a number ofterminals that select a particular cell to camp on or register with.This can be implemented by modifying parameter values employed by aterminal in selecting such a cell. By tightening parameters associatedwith a cell, a number of terminals selecting the cell can often bereduced. Likewise, by loosening parameters associated with the cell, thenumber of terminals selecting the cell can often be increased.

System 300 can comprise a RAN base station 302 communicatively coupledwith a set of user terminals 304 over a wireless air interface. Itshould be appreciated that the RAN base station can be associated withvarious types of mobile communication networks, including secondgeneration (2G) networks, third generation (3G) networks, fourthgeneration (4G) networks, and so on, based on standards andfunctionality implemented for the RAN base station 302. Additionally,system 300 can comprise an access control component 306 configured toidentify a potential overload condition within a cell of the RAN basestation 302, and implement load management functionality to direct oneor more of user terminals 304 to other cells if the potential overloadcondition is identified, as described herein. Although access controlcomponent 306 is shown as separate from RAN base station 302, thesubject disclosure is not limited to this particular implementation. Forinstance, access control component 306 can be physically co-located withone or more wireless transceivers of RAN base station 302, in oneimplementation. In an alternative implementation, access controlcomponent 306 can be physically co-located with a RNC (not depicted, butsee FIG. 6C, infra) associated with RAN base station 302. In yet anotheralternative implementation, access control component 306 can be a thirdparty entity communicatively coupled with the RNC or with RAN basestation 302, but not necessarily physically co-located therewith. Instill another alternative implementation, access control component 302can be located within an operator's network, or within a core network ofa mobile communication technology. As yet another implementation, acombination of the foregoing implementations can be effectuated, forinstance, where portions of access control component 306 are physicallylocated in various places (e.g., some portions within RAN base station302, others within or near the RNC, and others within the operator'snetwork, or other suitable combinations or variations).

Upon identifying a potential overload condition (e.g., where resourceconsumption of a cell of RAN base station 302 exceeds a threshold levelof total resource capacity), access control component 306 outputs a setof terminal access parameter values 308 configured to provide a level ofreduction in user terminals 304 attempting to access RAN base station302. As described herein, this level of reduction can be commensuratewith a level of loading, or an amount of resource consumption over thethreshold level of total resource capacity. In one aspect of the subjectdisclosure, RAN base station 302 employs a broadcast component 310 towirelessly transmit access parameter values 308 to user terminals 304.As a particular example, the access parameter values can be included ina System Information Message 312 in a UMTS or LTE network, or ananalogous message of another communication network technology. Exampleparameters and corresponding values can include a minimum signalstrength value, a minimum signal quality value, a cell offset value forRAN base station 302, offset values for co-located or neighboringwireless transceivers within the RAN, or the like, or suitablecombinations thereof.

In an alternative aspect, RAN base station 302 could unicast accessparameter values 308 to one or more of terminals 304, either instead ofor in conjunction with broadcasting these values. Unicast messaging canbe employed, for instance, for user terminals 304 having difficultyreceiving wireless messages from RAN base station 302. In this case,unicast signals can be transmitted at higher signal power, ortransmitted with beamshaping techniques to the particular terminals, toreduce interference within the cell caused by high level broadcastsignals. In one instance, a position(s) of particular terminals can beidentified with location-based services (e.g., GPS positioning, networktriangulation techniques, etc.), with the unicast message beingtransmitted to the identified position(s). In this manner, a higherdegree of granularity can be implemented for generating access parametervalues for particular terminals 304 (e.g., see FIG. 5, infra), anddelivering those access parameter values to the particular terminals304.

FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of an example system 400 for providinginter-cell resource management associated with terminal loadcoordination in wireless communications. System 400 can comprise a setof cells, cell 402A, cell 402B, cell 402C, cell 402D, cell 402E, cell402F (referred to collectively as cells 402A-402F) associated withrespective geographic regions served by a wireless network. Each ofcells 402A-402F includes one or more wireless transceivers forfacilitating wireless communication with user terminals (not depicted)within or near the respective cells 402A-402F.

Each cell 402A-402F can be configured to analyze and compute a metricrepresenting current resource load of the respective cells 402A-402F.The metric can be based on a number of terminals served by therespective cells 402A-402F, interference level within the cells402A-402F, a level of hardware or signal resources currently consumed(or currently available) for each cell 402A-402F, or the like, or asuitable combination thereof. In one aspect, respective cell loadmetrics are transmitted from individual cells to a common location. Inthe example implementation depicted by FIG. 4, respective cells402B-402F transmit their load metrics to cell 402A. However, otherimplementations are within the scope of the subject disclosure. Forinstance, cells 402A-402F can all transmit their respective load metricsto another such cell (402B-402F), to an RNC, or to another component ofan operator's wireless network (or directly to access control component406). In the case where load metrics are aggregated other than at accesscontrol component 406, and regardless of where these load metrics areaggregated, an aggregate of the load metrics is forwarded to accesscontrol component 406 in an aggregated load metric message 408. In thecase where load metrics are forwarded to access control component 406individually by respective cells 402A-402F, no aggregate load metricmessage 408 is required. Rather, individual load metric messages (408)can be sent instead.

Upon receiving the load metric message(s) 408, access control componentexecutes an inter-cell synchronization component 410. Inter-cellsynchronization component 410 employs a load coordination algorithm 412configured to coordinate loading among wireless transceivers withincells 402A-402F. Coordinated loading can be implemented collectively formultiple transceivers co-located in any given cell 402A-402F, or forindividual wireless transceivers of respective cells 402A-402F.

Based on the load metrics for respective wireless transceivers, loadcoordination algorithm is configured to determine a current level ofloading with respect to respective threshold resource capacity values,stored in a data store 416. For instance, load coordination algorithm412 can be configured to identify one or more of the wirelesstransceivers operating under resource capacity, and determine a level ofresource availability for the respective one or more wirelesstransceivers. Alternatively, or in addition, load coordination algorithm412 can be configured to identify one or more wireless transceiversoperating above a threshold resource capacity (where the thresholdresource capacity can be a single value, or separate underload/overloadresource capacity metrics where a load metric between the respectivecapacity metrics is considered neutral). In either or both cases, loadcoordination algorithm 412 can calculate a level of operation overcapacity or under capacity (or neutral capacity) for respective wirelesstransceivers of cells 402A-402F. Based on this calculation, loadcoordination algorithm establishes a load ranking for respectivewireless transceivers. The load ranking can then be employed to generatenetwork offload parameter values (e.g., a Qoffset parameter in the UMTSnetwork, or similar or analogous parameters for networks operating on adifferent wireless technology) for respective wireless transceivers orcells 402A-402F thereof. The network offload parameters can bedistributed to user terminals operating within the respective cells402A-402F, to bias user terminal cell selection in favor of cells withlow load ranking, against cells with high load ranking, or without biasfor cells with moderate load ranking. In a particular aspect of thesubject disclosure, the load ranking can also be incorporated into loadmanagement algorithms implemented by respective cells 402A-402F, as isdescribed in more detail at FIG. 5, infra.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an example system 500 forcoordinated load sharing implemented in conjunction with load managementalgorithms described herein. System 500 can comprise an access controlcomponent 502 comprising a processing component 504 and data store 506.Processing component 504 can be employed to execute one or more loadsharing algorithms or load coordination algorithms described herein.Processing component 504 can be employed by various other components ofaccess control component 502 to execute these and other algorithms.Additionally, data store 506 can store default parameters associatedwith load sharing or load coordination, current load levels ofrespective cells, and the like, as described herein (e.g., see datastore 416 of FIG. 4, parameter database 206 of FIG. 2, or data store 116of FIG. 1, infra).

Access control component 502 can be communicatively coupled with a datainput interface/communication gateway 508 (referred to hereinafter asdata input interface 508), for receiving network data related to currentload levels of network cells, and sending parameter values associatedwith load sharing or load management to the respective cells.Particularly, a set of load metrics 510 associated with respective cellsof a wireless network are received at data input interface 508. Theseload metrics 510 can be received periodically, in one instance, or canbe in response to a query for such metrics initiated by access controlcomponent 502. Load metrics 510 are forwarded to access controlcomponent 502 from data input interface 508 and can be stored in datastore 506.

Upon receiving load metrics 510, a detection component 512 is executedthat compares current load capacity (derived from load metrics 510) ofcells of the wireless network to a maximum load capacity of respectivecells. This maximum load capacity can be retrieved from data store 506.Further, detection component 512 can identify a potential overloadcondition for a cell(s) in response to the current load capacity of thatcell(s) meeting a condition with respect to the maximum load capacity.Such a condition can include, for instance, meeting a thresholdpercentage of maximum load capacity, exceeding a predetermined number ofterminal registrations, exceeding a predetermined amount of traffic orbandwidth, etc., upon available resources dropping below a thresholdpercentage of total resources, or the like. If an overload condition ora potential overload condition exists for any cells, detection component512 determines a level of loading for such cell(s), stores the level ofloading in data store 506, and triggers correction component 514 toinitiate load management functionality of access control component 502.Additionally, detection component 512 can trigger inter-cellsynchronization component 518 to initiate load sharing functionality ofaccess control component 502, the results of which can be employed bycorrection component 514 in load management determinations.

Correction component 514 determines a suitable terminal accessparameterization to address the overload condition as described herein.In addition, the determination can be based at least in part on relativeloading of cells co-located with or neighboring a potentially overloadedcell, as established by inter-cell synchronization component 518. In oneexample, terminal access parameterization can incorporate the relativeloading by establishing suitable offload parameters for respective cellsthat bias terminals toward cells with lower current resourceconsumption, or away from cells with higher current resourceconsumption. In one instance, this parameterization can incorporate IRATparameters that bias terminal cell selection in favor of or against aparticular wireless network technology observing low traffic congestionor high traffic congestion, respectively. The relative loading can bedetermined relative to respective current load metrics of other networktechnologies, or with respect to one or more loading thresholds, orboth.

In addition to establishing offload parameter values for loadmanagement, correction component 514 can establish load managementparameter values that can restrict or de-restrict terminal accessdecisions with respect to particular network cells. This degree ofrestriction/de-restriction and corresponding parameter values can bedetermined solely based on current load levels of those cells, or inrelationship to current load levels of neighboring cells or co-locatedwireless transceivers. Thus, for example, in the former case,restriction/de-restriction parameterization can be implemented to biasterminals in favor of or against one particular cell based solely on thecurrent level of loading associated with that cell (independent of theoffload parameters). In the other case, the restriction/de-restrictionparameterization can be implemented to reflect relative loading levelsamong different cells. The former case can be beneficial, for instance,where a large number of cells are heavily loaded, such that restrictingterminal access parameterization in effect reduces terminals accessingmany or all of the cells. Where load management parameterizationinvolves signal strength or signal quality parameters, terminalsobserving poor signal strength or signal quality will be more likely toavoid accessing highly loaded cells. This has the ancillary effect ofincreasing a likelihood that good service can be provided for thoseterminals which are served, and decreasing a likelihood that thoseterminals which could otherwise be provided good service will be unableto be served.

Once correction component 514 establishes load management and loadsharing parameter values for respective cells, values for theseparameters are provided to data input interface 508 for distribution torespective cells and terminals thereof. So that terminal accessparameterization can be dynamic and respond to changing load conditionswith a network, a monitoring component 516 can be employed to monitorchanges in load level values of cells stored in data store 506, andtrigger correction component 514 to re-calculate parameter values ifsignificant load level changes are detected. Monitoring component 516can passively monitor changes to load levels stored in data store 506,or can send a query via data input interface 508 to acquire new loadlevel data.

In additional aspects of the subject disclosure, access controlcomponent 502 can comprise an inter-state resource management component520. Inter-state resource management component 520 can be configured topropagate changes in user terminal access parameterization to additionalresource management functions of a wireless network associated withsystem 500. One example can include active mode resource managementfunctions of the network. Active mode resource management functions areresponsible for managing wireless resources for terminals engaged in anactive call session (e.g., voice call or data call). These functions cancause network-directed handovers from one cell to another, for instance,to provide efficient support for the call session. However, thesefunctions are often implemented independent of idle mode cell selection,which can result in terminals directed away from a cell as a result ofterminal access decisions, being directed back to that cell once a callis in session. Inter-state resource management component 520 candistribute inter-state parameterization to such functions, or canprovide parameters configured to modify or override such functions torespective active mode resource management entities. Thus, as anexample, the inter-state parameterization deployed by inter-stateresource management component 520 can cause active mode resourcemanagement functions to reduce a probability that a terminal isre-directed back to a cell during a call session if the terminal isdirected away from the cell as a result of access terminalparameterization changes, or reduce a probability that the terminal isre-directed away from the cell during the call session if the terminalis directed toward the cell as a result of such changes. In a similarmanner as described above, monitoring component 516 can triggerinter-state resource management component 520 to re-calculate andredistribute inter-state parameterization as a result of changes in loadlevel stored in data store 506, or in another aspect, inter-stateresource management component 520 can be triggered upon new accessterminal parameterization output by correction component 514.

In one additional aspect of the subject disclosure, data store 506 canbe communicatively coupled with a network operator interface 522.Network operator interface 522 can be configured to enable operatorchanges to default parameterization stored in data store 506, associatedwith progression restriction/de-restriction on terminal access attemptsto network cells. In an additional aspect, network operator interface522 can also enable operator changes to inter-state parameterizationdefault values employed by inter-state resource management component 520for synchronizing resource management functions of the wireless network.As one example, default parameterization that can be modified vianetwork operator interface 522 can include a load threshold foractivating or deactivating access terminal parameterization functionsdescribed herein. Additional parameters can include a load threshold(s)for activating or deactivating access terminal restriction, orthresholds for increasing/decreasing the access terminal restriction, amax value for a minimum signal quality or minimum signal strengthparameters associated with user terminal access determinations, IRATparameters associated with user terminal access determinations,respective number of value increments between respective default valuesand respective max values for cell/network selection parameters,respective size of value increments, or the like, or suitablecombinations thereof.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C depict block diagrams of alternative implementations ofdynamic access control management according to other aspects of thesubject disclosure. FIG. 6A depicts a system 600A for load management inwireless communications according to one specific aspect. System 600Acomprises a RAN base station 602A communicatively coupled over awireless link with one or more user terminals 604A. In addition, RANbase station 602A is connected with an access control component 606A.Access control component 606A can be implemented as a sub-component ofother software and hardware components of RAN base station 602A, or canbe a separate hardware and software installation located on or near aradio tower of RAN base station 602A, and communicatively coupledtherewith via a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet, fiber optic cable,twister copper pair, and so on). In addition, user terminalparameterization values associated with load management or load sharingfunctionality described herein can be conveyed to user terminals 604Aover the wireless link directly from RAN base station 602A.

FIG. 6B depicts a system 600B for load management in an alternativeaspect. System 600B depicts a set of wireless network cells 602B.Network cells 602B are communicatively coupled with a RNC 604B via awired interface. The wired interface can be a core network interface,such as a standardized communication path between base stations and RNC604B. Particularly, wired interface can comply with various industrystandards implemented for network cells 602B and RNC 604B. Accesscontrol component 606B is physically separate from, but communicativelycoupled with RAN 604B. In this implementation, access control component606B can be a standardized entity, a custom network operator'sequipment, or a third party entity configured to communicate with andcoordinate with RNC 604B for load management and load sharing accordingto the various aspects described herein.

FIG. 6C depicts a block diagram of an example system 600C for loadmanagement in yet another alternative aspect. System 600C comprises aRNC 602C. RNC 602C can be substantially similar to RNC 604B, andconforms to typical communication standards for a given wirelesstechnology governing RNC 602C. Additionally, RNC 602C can be configuredto include an access control component 606B for providing loadmanagement and load sharing functionality described herein. Accordingly,cell load level data received at RNC 602C is processed by access controlcomponent 606B, and load management/sharing parameters configured toadjust user terminal cell selection determinations are output by RNC602C, and distributed to respective network cells controlled by RNC602C.

The aforementioned systems have been described with respect tointeraction between several components and/or communication interfaces.It should be appreciated that such systems and components can includethose components or sub-components specified therein, some of thespecified components or sub-components, and/or additional components.For example, a system could include access control component 102,communication bus/interface 104, RAN base station 302 and user terminals304, or a different combination of these or other entities.Sub-components could also be implemented as modules communicativelycoupled to other modules rather than included within parent modules.Additionally, it should be noted that one or more components could becombined into a single component providing aggregate functionality. Forinstance, correction component 514 can include monitoring component 516,or vice versa, to facilitate identifying changes in load levels of cellsof a wireless network and updating access terminal parameterizationbased on such changes, by way of a single component. The components canalso interact with one or more other components not specificallydescribed herein but known by those of skill in the art.

FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 illustrate various methods in accordance with one ormore of the various embodiments disclosed herein. While, for purposes ofsimplicity of explanation, the methods are shown and described as aseries of acts, it is to be understood and appreciated that the variousembodiments are not limited by the order of acts, as some acts may occurin different orders and/or concurrently with other acts from that shownand described herein. For example, those skilled in the art willunderstand and appreciate that a method could alternatively berepresented as a series of interrelated states or events, such as in astate diagram. Moreover, not all illustrated acts may be required toimplement a method in accordance with the various embodiments.Additionally, it should be further appreciated that the methodsdisclosed hereinafter and throughout this specification are capable ofbeing stored on an article of manufacture to facilitate transporting andtransferring such methods to computers. The term article of manufacture,as used herein, is intended to encompass a computer program accessiblefrom any computer-readable device, carrier, or media.

FIG. 7 depicts a flowchart of an example method 700 according toadditional aspects of the subject disclosure. At 702, method 700 cancomprise determining a level of resource consumption for a cell of awireless network. The level of resource consumption can be deterministicor inferred based on a probability. Where deterministic, a level ofloading can be compared with one or more load thresholds, and adetermination based on the comparison. Where inferred, the level ofloading can be analyzed with respect to predictive algorithms configuredto provide probabilities of change in loading based on current networkconditions and suitable aggregates of past or modeled networkconditions.

At 704, method 700 can comprise comparing the level to a threshold levelof full resource consumption. In one instance, the threshold level offull resource consumption is a parameter established by a networkoperator and stored in a data store. In other instances, the thresholdlevel of full resource consumption can comprise various levels ofresource consumption associated with respective states of relativeloading, including under-loading, moderate loading, and over-loading.

At 706, method 700 can comprise activating incremental restriction onuser terminal access attempts to the cell if the level of resourceconsumption exceeds the threshold level. The incremental restriction canbe implemented via one or more parameter values employed by userterminals in idle mode cell selection, in some aspects. These parameterscan include signal strength parameters, signal quality parameters, cellbias parameters, network bias parameters (e.g., IRAT parameters), or thelike, or suitable combinations thereof.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 800 according tostill other aspects of the subject disclosure. At 802, method 800 cancomprise determining a level of resource consumption for a cell of awireless network. At 804, method 800 can comprise comparing the level toone or more threshold levels of full resource consumption. Additionally,at 806, method 800 can comprise synchronizing resource consumption amonga plurality of cells of the wireless network. Resource consumptionsynchronization can be implemented, for instance, by identifyingrespective load levels of the plurality of cells, and providing a loadlevel ranking for respective cells. The load level ranking can beemployed to generate cell offload or bias parameters that increase alikelihood that user terminal cell selection determinations will choosea cell with a relatively low level of current load. At 808, method 800can comprise activating incremental restriction of user terminal accessattempts to the cell if the level of resource consumption exceeds thethreshold level(s). At 810, method 800 can comprise distributing changesin user terminal access parameterization resulting from the incrementalrestriction to additional resource management functions of a wirelessnetwork.

FIG. 9 depicts a flowchart of a sample method 900 according to yet otheraspects of the subject disclosure. At 902, method 900 can comprisereceiving resource consumption metrics for respective cells of awireless network. At 904, method 900 can comprise comparing respectiveresource consumption levels with one or more resource capacitythresholds for the cells. At 906, method 900 can comprise determining anunder or over utilization ranking for respective cells based on thecomparison.

At 908, method 900 can make a determination as to whether an overloadcondition or a potential overload condition exists with respect to oneor more of the cells, as described herein. If such condition isdetermined, method 900 can proceed to 910. Otherwise, method 900 returnsto 902.

At 910, method 900 can determine a level of loading for the cell(s) forwhich the overload condition or potential overload condition exists. At912, method 900 can comprise generating and distributing offsetparameters for respective cells based on the under or over utilizationranking determined at reference number 906.

At 914, method 900 can comprise determining load management parametersfor the cell(s) based on level of loading and defaults, and optionallybased on the under or over utilization ranking for respective cells. At916, method 900 can comprise distributing load management parametervalues to respective cells, for distribution to user terminals withinsuch cells. At 918, method 900 can comprise distributing load managementparameters to additional resource management functions of the wirelessnetwork, e.g., to coordinate resource loading functionality for idlemode and active mode terminals. At 920, method 900 can comprisemonitoring changes in resource consumption metrics of respective cells.From 920, method 900 can proceed to reference number 906.

Referring now to FIG. 10, there is illustrated a block diagram of anexemplary computer system operable to execute the disclosedarchitecture. In order to provide additional context for various aspectsof the various embodiments, FIG. 10 and the following discussion areintended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computingenvironment 1000 in which the various aspects of the various embodimentscan be implemented. Additionally, while the various embodimentsdescribed above may be suitable for application in the general contextof computer-executable instructions that may run on one or morecomputers, those skilled in the art will recognize that the variousembodiments also can be implemented in combination with other programmodules and/or as a combination of hardware and software.

Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, datastructures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the inventive methods can be practiced with other computer systemconfigurations, including single-processor or multiprocessor computersystems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personalcomputers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can beoperatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

The illustrated aspects of the various embodiments may also be practicedin distributed computing environments where certain tasks are performedby remote processing devices that are linked through a communicationsnetwork. In a distributed computing environment, program modules can belocated in both local and remote memory storage devices.

A computer typically includes a variety of computer-readable media.Computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessedby the computer and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media,removable and non-removable media. By way of example, and notlimitation, computer-readable media can comprise computer storage mediaand communication media. Computer storage media can include bothvolatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implementedin any method or technology for storage of information such ascomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules orother data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM,ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digitalversatile disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or any other medium which can be used to store the desired informationand which can be accessed by the computer.

Communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated datasignal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includesany information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example,and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as awired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such asacoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of the anyof the above should also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media.

Continuing to reference FIG. 10, the exemplary environment 1000 forimplementing various aspects of one or more of the various embodimentsincludes a computer 1002, the computer 1002 including a processing unit1004, a system memory 1006 and a system bus 1008. The system bus 1008couples to system components including, but not limited to, the systemmemory 1006 to the processing unit 1004. The processing unit 1004 can beany of various commercially available processors. Dual microprocessorsand other multi-processor architectures may also be employed as theprocessing unit 1004.

The system bus 1008 can be any of several types of bus structure thatmay further interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memorycontroller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety ofcommercially available bus architectures. The system memory 1006includes read-only memory (ROM) 1010 and random access memory (RAM)1012. A basic input/output system (BIOS) is stored in a non-volatilememory 1010 such as ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, which BIOS contains the basicroutines that help to transfer information between elements within thecomputer 1002, such as during start-up. The RAM 1012 can also include ahigh-speed RAM such as static RAM for caching data.

The computer 1002 further includes an internal hard disk drive (HDD)1014 (e.g., EIDE, SATA), which internal hard disk drive 1014 may also beconfigured for external use in a suitable chassis (not shown), amagnetic floppy disk drive (FDD) 1016, (e.g., to read from or write to aremovable diskette 1018) and an optical disk drive 1020, (e.g., readinga CD-ROM disk 1022 or, to read from or write to other high capacityoptical media such as the DVD). The hard disk drive 1014, magnetic diskdrive 1016 and optical disk drive 1020 can be connected to the systembus 1008 by a hard disk drive interface 1024, a magnetic disk driveinterface 1026 and an optical drive interface 1028, respectively. Theinterface 1024 for external drive implementations includes at least oneor both of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and IEEE1394 interfacetechnologies. Other external drive connection technologies are withincontemplation of the subject matter claimed herein.

The drives and their associated computer-readable media providenonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executableinstructions, and so forth. For the computer 1002, the drives and mediaaccommodate the storage of any data in a suitable digital format.Although the description of computer-readable media above refers to aHDD, a removable magnetic diskette, and a removable optical media suchas a CD or DVD, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat other types of media which are readable by a computer, such as zipdrives, magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, cartridges, and thelike, may also be used in the exemplary operating environment, andfurther, that any such media may contain computer-executableinstructions for performing the methods of the various embodiments.

A number of program modules can be stored in the drives and RAM 1012,including an operating system 1030, one or more application programs1032, other program modules 1034 and program data 1036. All or portionsof the operating system, applications, modules, and/or data can also becached in the RAM 1012. It is appreciated that the various embodimentscan be implemented with various commercially available or proprietaryoperating systems or combinations of operating systems.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer 1002 throughone or more wired/wireless input devices, e.g., a keyboard 1038 and apointing device, such as a mouse 1040. Other input devices (not shown)may include a microphone, an IR remote control, a joystick, a game pad,a stylus pen, touch screen, or the like. These and other input devicesare often connected to the processing unit 1004 through an input deviceinterface 1042 that is coupled to the system bus 1008, but can beconnected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, an IEEE1394serial port, a game port, a USB port, an IR interface, etc.

A monitor 1044 or other type of display device is also connected to thesystem bus 1008 via an interface, such as a video adapter 1046. Inaddition to the monitor 1044, a computer typically includes otherperipheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc.

The computer 1002 may operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections via wired and/or wireless communications to one or moreremote computers, such as a remote computer(s) 1048. The remotecomputer(s) 1048 can be a workstation, a server computer, a router, apersonal computer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainmentappliance, a peer device or other common network node, and typicallyincludes many or all of the elements described relative to the computer1002, although, for purposes of brevity, only a memory/storage device1050 is illustrated. The logical connections depicted includewired/wireless connectivity to a local area network (LAN) 1052 and/orlarger networks, e.g., a wide area network (WAN) 1054. Such LAN and WANnetworking environments are commonplace in offices and companies, andfacilitate enterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all ofwhich may connect to a global communications network, e.g., theInternet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 1002 isconnected to the local network 1052 through a wired and/or wirelesscommunication network interface or adapter 1056. The adapter 1056 mayfacilitate wired or wireless communication to the LAN 1052, which mayalso include a wireless access point disposed thereon for communicatingwith the wireless adapter 1056.

When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 1002 can includea modem 1058, or is connected to a communications server on the WAN1054, or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN1054, such as by way of the Internet. The modem 1058, which can beinternal or external and a wired or wireless device, is connected to thesystem bus 1008 via the serial port interface 1042. In a networkedenvironment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 1002, orportions thereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device1050. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown areexemplary and other means of establishing a communications link betweenthe computers can be used.

The computer 1002 is operable to communicate with any wireless devicesor entities operatively disposed in wireless communication, e.g., aprinter, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, portable dataassistant, communications satellite, any piece of equipment or locationassociated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk, news stand,restroom), and telephone. This includes at least Wi-Fi and Bluetooth™wireless technologies. Thus, the communication can be a predefinedstructure as with a conventional network or simply an ad hoccommunication between at least two devices.

Wi-Fi, or Wireless Fidelity, allows connection to the Internet from acouch at home, a bed in a hotel room, or a conference room at work,without wires. Wi-Fi is a wireless technology similar to that used in acell phone that enables such devices, e.g., computers, to send andreceive data indoors and out; anywhere within the range of a basestation. Wi-Fi networks use radio technologies called IEEE802.11(a, b,g, n, etc.) to provide secure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. AWi-Fi network can be used to connect computers to each other, to theInternet, and to wired networks (which use IEEE802.3 or Ethernet). Wi-Finetworks operate in the unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands, at an 11Mbps (802.11a) or 54 Mbps (802.11b) data rate, for example, or withproducts that contain both bands (dual band), so the networks canprovide real-world performance similar to the basic 10BaseT wiredEthernet networks used in many offices.

Referring now to FIG. 11, there is illustrated a schematic block diagramof an exemplary computer compilation system operable to execute thedisclosed architecture. The system 1100 includes one or more client(s)1102. The client(s) 1102 can be hardware and/or software (e.g., threads,processes, computing devices). The client(s) 1102 can house cookie(s)and/or associated contextual information by employing the variousembodiments, for example.

The system 1100 also includes one or more server(s) 1104. The server(s)1104 can also be hardware and/or software (e.g., threads, processes,computing devices). The servers 1104 can house threads to performtransformations by employing the various embodiments, for example. Onepossible communication between a client 1102 and a server 1104 can be inthe form of a data packet adapted to be transmitted between two or morecomputer processes. The data packet may include a cookie and/orassociated contextual information, for example. The system 1100 includesa communication framework 1106 (e.g., a global communication networksuch as the Internet) that can be employed to facilitate communicationsbetween the client(s) 1102 and the server(s) 1104.

Communications can be facilitated via a wired (including optical fiber)and/or wireless technology. The client(s) 1102 are operatively connectedto one or more client data store(s) 1108 that can be employed to storeinformation local to the client(s) 1102 (e.g., cookie(s) and/orassociated contextual information). Similarly, the server(s) 1104 areoperatively connected to one or more server data store(s) 1110 that canbe employed to store information local to the servers 1104.

What has been described above includes examples of the variousembodiments. It is, of course, not possible to describe everyconceivable combination of components or methods for purposes ofdescribing the embodiments, but one of ordinary skill in the art mayrecognize that many further combinations and permutations are possible.Accordingly, the detailed description is intended to embrace all suchalterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the spiritand scope of the appended claims.

In particular and in regard to the various functions performed by theabove described components, devices, circuits, systems and the like, theterms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe suchcomponents are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, toany component which performs the specified function of the describedcomponent (e.g., a functional equivalent), even though not structurallyequivalent to the disclosed structure, which performs the function inthe herein illustrated exemplary aspects of the embodiments. In thisregard, it will also be recognized that the embodiments includes asystem as well as a computer-readable medium having computer-executableinstructions for performing the acts and/or events of the variousmethods.

In addition, while a particular feature may have been disclosed withrespect to only one of several implementations, such feature may becombined with one or more other features of the other implementations asmay be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes,” and “including”and variants thereof are used in either the detailed description or theclaims, these terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar tothe term “comprising.”

1. A system that provides dynamic access control for wirelesscommunications, comprising: a detection component configured to identifya condition pertaining to resource consumption for a cell of a wirelessnetwork; and a correction component configured to modify user terminalcell access parameters within the cell to counteract the condition bymanaging user terminal load at the cell.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the detection component determines a level of loading for thecell based on at least one of traffic congestion or access congestion;and wherein the correction component determines a corresponding level ofaccess parameter modification for the cell based on the level ofloading.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the traffic congestion oraccess congestion is derived from at least one of: a number of userterminals served by the cell, interference observed within the cell, ortraffic processing overhead associated with the cell.
 4. The system ofclaim 1, further comprising a parameter database that maintains a listof the user terminal cell access parameters related to dynamic accesscontrol for the cell, and corresponding values for the user terminalcell access parameters.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein the list ofuser terminal cell access parameters comprises at least one of thefollowing parameters: a load threshold parameter for activating anddeactivating dynamic access control; one or more max value parametersthat establish a peak increment for respective one or more user terminalaccess control parameters; or an increment parameter that establishes anumber of increments between a default value and the peak increment forthe user terminal access control parameters.
 6. The system of claim 1,wherein: the condition comprises resource availability for the cellmeeting or dropping below a threshold availability level; the detectioncomponent updates a value of a load parameter to reflect existingresource availability, the system further comprises a managementcomponent that monitors the value of the load parameter; and thecorrection component progressively limits the user terminal accessparameters in response to changes in the value to at least one of inducefewer user terminal access attempts to the cell, or induce user terminalmobility away from the cell.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein thecorrection component progressively loosens the user terminal accessparameters if the resource availability meets a second condition, to atleast one of increase a number of user terminals that attempt to accessthe cell, or increase a number of user terminals permitted to access thecell.
 8. The system of claim 6, wherein the management componentterminates dynamic access control to the cell in response to the valueof the load parameter at least one of decreasing below a predeterminedresource consumption level or rising above a predetermined resourceavailability level.
 9. The system of claim 6, wherein the user terminalcell access parameters comprise at least one of: a minimum qualityparameter that establishes a minimum signal quality below which aterminal refrains from attempting access to the cell; a minimum signalstrength parameter that establishes a minimum signal strength belowwhich the terminal refrains from attempting access to the cell; anoffset parameter that biases the terminal with respect to attemptingaccess to the cell or a neighboring cell, or a carrier of the cell orneighboring cell, or a combination thereof; or an inter radio accesstechnology offset parameter that biases the terminal with respect toattempting access to a cell operating according to at least one of aparticular wireless technology or a particular wireless standard. 10.The system of claim 9, wherein the inter radio access technology offsetparameter comprises at least one of: a bias with respect to a fourthgeneration wireless technology; a bias with respect to a thirdgeneration wireless technology; or a bias with respect to a secondgeneration wireless technology.
 11. The system of claim 6, furthercomprising a broadcast component that transmits changes in the userterminal cell access parameters via an update to System InformationMessage content to user terminals within the cell.
 12. The system ofclaim 1, wherein at least one of the detection component or thecorrection component is physically co-located with at least one of: aradio network control point of a radio access network; a base station ofthe radio access network; or an entity communicatively coupled with butphysically separate from at least one of the radio network control pointor the base station.
 13. A system of dynamic access control for wirelesscommunication, comprising: a detection component configured to comparecurrent load of a cell of a wireless network to a maximum load value andidentify at least one of an overload condition or a potential overloadcondition in response to the current load meeting a condition withrespect to the maximum load value; a correction component configured toestablish progressive limitation on terminal access attempts to the cellin response to identification of the overload condition or potentialoverload condition; and an inter-cell synchronization componentconfigured to coordinate user terminal load among wireless transceiversco-located with at least one of the cell or wireless transceiversneighboring the cell, wherein the progressive limitation on terminalaccess attempts is a function of the coordinated user terminal load. 14.The system of claim 13, wherein the inter-cell synchronization componentor the correction component are further configured to implement at leastone of the following: identify one or more of the wireless transceiversoperating below or at resource capacity and determine a level ofresource availability for the one or more wireless transceivers, andadjust access attempt parameterization employed by terminals toestablish a level of bias commensurate with the level of resourceavailability; or identify one or more of the wireless transceiversoperating above a threshold amount of resource capacity and to establishan overload ranking for the respective one or more of the wirelesstransceivers based on a level of resource consumption above thethreshold amount of resource capacity, and adjust access attemptparameterization to establish a level of bias commensurate with thelevel of resource consumption.
 15. The system of claim 13, wherein thecorrection component is further configured to progressively limit theterminal access attempts without bias with respect to any of thewireless transceivers in response to a determination that all orsubstantially all of the wireless transceivers are operating at leastone of above a threshold resource capacity, or within a predeterminedrange of resource capacity relative others of the wireless transceivers.16. The system of claim 13, further comprising an inter-functionmanagement component configured to propagate changes in user terminalaccess parameterization to active mode resource management functions ofa wireless network associated with the system.
 17. The system of claim16, wherein the changes in user terminal access parameterization causethe active mode resource management functions to at least one of: reducea probability that a terminal is re-directed back to the cell during acall session in response to the terminal being directed away from thecell as a result of the changes; or reduce a probability that theterminal is re-directed away from the cell during the call session inresponse to the terminal being directed toward the cell as a result ofthe changes.
 18. The system of claim 13, further comprising a networkoperator interface that enables operator changes to defaultparameterization associated with the progressive limitation on terminalaccess attempts to the cell, wherein default parameterization includesdefault values for a set of parameters comprising data representing atleast one of: enablement or disablement of the progressive limitation ofuser terminal access attempts; a load threshold for activating ordeactivating limitation of user terminal access attempts; a maximumvalue for a minimum signal quality parameter associated with userterminal access determinations to the cell; a maximum value for aminimum signal strength parameter associated with user terminal accessdeterminations to the cell; a respective number of value incrementsbetween respective default values and respective maximum values for theminimum signal quality parameter and the minimum signal strengthparameter; or a respective size of the value increments.
 19. A computerreadable storage medium comprising computer executable instructionsthat, in response to execution by a computing system, cause thecomputing system to perform operations for providing dynamic accesscontrol in wireless communication, the operations comprising:determining a level of resource consumption of a cell of a wirelessnetwork; comparing the level to a threshold level of full resourceconsumption; and activating incremental restriction of user terminalaccess attempts to the cell in response to the level of resourceconsumption exceeding the threshold level.
 20. The computer readablestorage medium of claim 19, further comprising: synchronizing resourceconsumption among a plurality of cells of the wireless network andimplementing incremental restriction of user terminal access attemptsaccording to a configuration that balances loading among the pluralityof cells; and distributing changes in user terminal accessparameterization resulting from the incremental restriction toadditional resource management functions of the wireless network, tocoordinate the incremental restriction among those additional resourcemanagement functions.
 21. A method of providing dynamic access controlin wireless communication, comprising: determining a level of resourceconsumption of a cell of a wireless network; comparing the level to athreshold level of full resource consumption; and activating incrementalrestriction of user terminal access attempts to the cell if the level ofresource consumption satisfies a condition relative to the thresholdlevel.
 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising synchronizingresource consumption among a plurality of cells of the wireless networkand implementing incremental restriction of user terminal accessattempts according to a configuration that balances loading among theplurality of cells.
 23. The method of claim 22, further comprisingdistributing changes in user terminal access parameterization resultingfrom the incremental restriction to additional resource managementfunctions of the wireless network, to coordinate the incrementalrestriction among those additional resource management functions. 24.The method of claim 21, further comprising modifying user terminal cellselection parameters for inducing one or more user terminals to selectanother cell of the wireless network for network access or networkregistration.
 25. The method of claim 24, further comprisingincrementally increasing the modification of user terminal cellselection parameters until the level of resource consumption equals orfalls below the threshold level.